F/A-18 Lightning Strike Video

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Lightning strikes are relatively common on aircraft but not many show up on cockpit video. A Kuwait air force F/A-18 Hornet pilot was on a training flight when his glareshield cam caught a bolt from the blue hitting the canopy next to his head. He was shaken up by the noisy encounter but landed safely, sporting proof of the jolt on the canopy. He was OK but the aircraft will need some work.

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Comments (2)

We experienced an ESD on approach to a UK military base in a KC-135 a few years back (who am I kidding, it was a few decades back) that blew off the jet's radome. The sound in the video gives a false impression of the actual volume--IT'S LOUD!

Back in the 80s NASA repeatedly flew a specially instrumented TF-106 into thunder storms out of Andrews AFB. The purpose was to collect data on what conditions were most favorable to lightning strikes and how to mitigate them. I remember meeting the flight test engineer and viewing video (no sound) of some of the 200+ strikes they registered. After the first strike, you'd never get me back in the cockpit!